Key Moments

The Man who was struck by lightening

This part of the book shows the man being scared of helping a man in need. It makes you feel slightly disapointed in the man as you thought they were the "Good guys" in the novel. It is the first real test of morality.
When they reach the man, it says "he looked down as if he'd done something wrong" this makes you feel pitty for the man, this shows he is obviously expecting punishment, like an animal bowing its head as to protect itself, so by this shows he is expecting more pain this sets the scene for the rest of the book, unyielding suffering where no one will try to help.
By making the boy want to help the injured man but the Father not, it shows contrast, and makes the reader feel almost angry with the father for not helping him, as the boy is willing.
This is the point in the book where the Man leaves himself behind and accepts the full terror of the world he is living in. This is shown by him throwing away his wallet and his life. It says earlier that the injured man was "as burnt looking as the country" by saying that "we can't fix him" it could be a larger meaning that indicating, it could be a symbol that the world is falling and there was no way of fixing it

shooting the 'roadrat' (pp. 62-69)

This is when the man and boy come across the "bad people" on the road, it shows them to be evil immiedeltly as you see them it describes them as "casting their hooden heads side to side" this is like raging wild animals like a bear, searching for food.
A detail which is stangely repeated during this scene is the "diesel truck" which would nnot usualy be said, most of the time people would say 'an engine' or 'the truck' by being very specific it shows both the rarity of the truck and the concentration which the man has on it, as Petrol and Diesal engines though making relativly simmilar sounds do sound slightly different. This alos brings out the silence of the scene, that the usual calm means that when he does hear the engine it is a lot more defined.
When asked if the Man is a doctor in this scene, he replies "Im not anything" this shows how he feels unconnected tot the world he once knews, and he treats it as a different life... that or he just didn't want the roadrat to know he was a doctor...
When is describes the belt the road rat takes off, it says "the holes on it showed the progress of his emaciaton" Emaciation means how ill a person or how starved a person is looking, the holes showing his decent to death as he gets thinner its curious the that when the man shoots the road rat he says that blood was "bubbling from the hole in his forehead" which is the last part to the "progression"


- finding the cellar of naked and mutilated people (pp. 112-121)

In this scene the Man and the Boy go to a old house in search for food, they go into the cellar and find many mutilated people in it then they run.
Before they enter it says that "Chattel slaves" were used in the building this is meant to be said in soime disgust, as slavery is horrible, but it sets the scene and seems insignificant in comparison to what they see in the cellar, it is amost foreshadowing the mutilated people by mentioning the existence of the slaves.
THere are hints of Christiananity through this scene, when they decsend into the cellar the it describes it as "an offering" as if to God, but then said it was a "ungodly stench" this makes it then if not a offering to God then to the opposite; to Satan.
He also says "Jesus" and "Christ oh Christ" when running from the cellar. and they run back into the light of out of the cellar, this could be showing that God had abandoned the earth, like the Man and boy did.

- the baby on the spit (pp. 210-215)

This is a very shocking scene in the chapter, not only is the actual occurence horrible it is all by suprise, the description jumps straight in rather than explaining it so the reader could slowly absorb it.
It is a very significant episode in the book because of the brutality. It is also important because of the interaction between the man and the boy. When the man notices the baby, he runs away whispering "im sorry" he repeats this again, this is to show the desperation of his words, this isn't a timid apology this is him begging for forgiveness for this horrible thing, this is in great contrast to earlier in the book, as it is full of emotion, but earlier in the book he talks of gruesome events quite unemotionaly.
In these scene also the boy becomes very enthusiastic about everything, though earlier in the book he is very shy. Some how this has given the boy a sense of responcibilty as he talks about what they could have done for the baby.


- getting to the shore (pp. 227 - 230)

In this scene there is a lot of climax towards getting to the coast, which has been the goal through out the whole book. It shows the excitment - almost of the story teller - as he skips days with such expressions like "2 days later" and "long days" rather than explaining them fully as usually done.
On page 229 there is an incredibly small paragraph to show the excitment of the boy. But hardly through out the scene mentions the father's excitment and though before it talks about the father talking about the coast now the son is the one being excited. This shows how much the road has drained the man's spirit and but the boy's has kept going which keeps going which matches their physical health.
It is a great anti-climax when they see the sea "I'm sorry its not blue" the Man says this to reconcile the boy. Though it is a very small thing that the father has let the boy down with, it was the one thing that the boy was looking forward to, and the man had let him down so many times before then.
In this scene the man also talks about dead bodies and describes himself being like someone "waking in the grave" to show that he was almost dead but then is holding on, this really also makes the coast so disappointing the one thing that had been their hope for survival, but then he dies there.
This scene is important to the rest of the novel for the simple reason it shows the never ending gloom of the road, no matter what they do it is never going to end, and there is no light at the end of the road.

 the theft of the man and boy's belongings (pp. 270-278)


In this scene, for the first time the man properly looses his cool. When he realizes their stuff has gone he says "You stupid ass" this could be considered very crude and basic language. earlier in the novel for example with the road rat, the road rat uses very basic language to show that he was so absorbed into the chaos of the world, as the man and boy had spoken nicely it showed they were the "good guys" but now you see a bad streak in the man and this language shows the start of it. It is also shown they are the turning away from the good side because for the first time they are the ones giving chase not the ones being chased.
Also a thing that changes he tells the boy "Im scared, do you understand? im scared" this is a change from the normal, the man usually tries to reassure himself when doing a bad thing, but now as he is dying he has to pass it on the boy, so has to justify to the boy why he did the immoral thing.
This scene is important for the reason that it shows the transition and confusion as the man starts to become more desperate, and it asks the questions: are they still the good guys?